Healthy Kid-Friendly Slow Cooker Meals for Busy Families

August 27, 2019
Everyone’s busy with school, work and evening activities, but a family still has to eat! These healthy load-and-go slow-cooker recipes call for minimal prep, which you can do ahead to save even more time during the week.
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Slow-Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup Meal-Prep Freezer Pack

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Not only does this chicken noodle soup recipe utilize the crock pot for a set-it-and-forget-it easy dinner, you can also prep all the ingredients ahead of time and store them away in the freezer to pull out on a day where you forgot to plan dinner. That's a meal-prep win! Just make sure you thaw the food before adding it to the slow cooker--otherwise it will remain at an unsafe temperature for too long.

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Slow-Cooker Baby Back Ribs

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This easy load-and-go crock pot recipe is a great dinner to make with your kids. Let the kids stir the sauce while you rub the ribs, then just let the slow cooker do the rest of the work! Serve with a colorful coleslaw and brown rice.

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Slow-Cooker Curried Butternut Squash Soup

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Skip the roasting in this butternut squash soup recipe and let your slow cooker do the work instead. Just load up all the ingredients into the crock pot, set it and forget it for an easy, healthy dinner or packable lunches.

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Slow-Cooker Vegetarian Lasagna

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Sure, the slow cooker's great for stews and soups, but it also happens to make a mean lasagna! In this ingenious slow-cooker recipe, all you have to do is chop your veggies, then layer the ingredients (raw) into the crockpot. Serve with: Garlic bread and a green salad.

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Pasta with Marinara Sauce

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This veggie-packed marinara sauce simmers in your slow cooker, ready when you are for an easy weeknight dinner with whole- grain pasta.

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Chili Bean-Stuffed Peppers

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Easy slow-cooked stuffed peppers get a delightful Southwestern twist when filled with rice and beans and topped with Monterey Jack cheese.

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Curried Chicken with Sweet Potatoes & Snap Peas

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A slow cooker makes easy work of this colorful coconut curry dinner-but don't just toss everything in at once! Reserving the bell peppers and snap peas until the end keeps the vegetables crisp.

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Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

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This easy chicken soup recipe is made in the slow cooker and topped with crispy tortilla chips before serving.

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Aztec Corn Chowder

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Use your slow cooker to create this tasty vegetarian soup. If you like a little kick, a few drops of hot sauce does the trick.

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Vegetable and Pasta Soup

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A slow-cooker will do all the work for this delicious, diabetic-friendly Vegetable and Pasta Soup. Opt for vegetable stock to make this soup vegetarian.

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Squash, Chickpea & Red Lentil Stew

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Modeled on North African stews, this aromatic vegetarian main course can be served over brown rice or steamed spinach.

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Slow-Cooker Pasta e Fagioli Soup Freezer Pack

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Your favorite restaurant soup just got easier and healthier with this freezer-to-crock-pot recipe. If you keep a special bottle of olive oil on hand for stand-out dishes, this is the recipe to pull it out for. The headiness of the fruity olive oil truly elevates the flavors in this Italian meal-prep slow-cooker soup.

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Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

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This easy slow-cooker chicken noodle soup is chock-full of vegetables and noodles, and gets extra creaminess from a little light cream cheese.

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Slow-Cooker Honey-Orange Chicken Drumsticks

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This slow-cooker chicken recipe makes a perfect alternative to standard tomato-based barbecued chicken. Both kids and adults will devour these drumsticks, doused in a honey-sweetened sauce spiked with orange, ginger and garlic.

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Slow-Cooker Vegetable Soup

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Make a big batch of low-calorie veggie-packed soup with ease in this load-and-go crock pot recipe. After simmering away in the slow cooker, portion it into individual serving containers and store in the fridge or freezer for fast, healthy lunches or an easy, satisfying snack. This weight-loss vegetable soup fills you up without a lot of calories, plus it's an easy way to eat more vegetables.

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Weeknight Honey-Orange Chicken with Butternut Squash

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Combine orange juice, cornstarch, soy sauce, honey, ginger, garlic, salt and crushed red pepper with chicken and butternut squash in this delicious slow-cooker recipe. Serve over high-protein quinoa, which contains all nine essential amino acids.

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Slow-Cooker Mediterranean Chicken & Orzo

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Perk up basic chicken breast and whole-wheat orzo with the vibrant flavors of the Mediterranean, like lemon and olives. This load-and-go recipe makes a complete and satisfying meal; just add a green salad.

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White Chicken Chili

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This diabetic-friendly chicken chili recipe provides 22 grams of protein in each serving. Consider topping chili with Greek yogurt instead of sour cream to reduce calorie and fat content.

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